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Sunday, 28 August 2016

Botch were a four-piece hardcore/metalcore band from Tacoma, Washington that formed in 1993 and broke up in 2002. They are considered to be one of the most important and influential bands in "mathcore", which is basically a really technical form of hardcore with a lot of odd time signatures and other progressive shit. A lot of their influence can be credited to their magnum opus, 1999's We Are The Romans.

This was their second and final full-length, and it's the type of album to knock you on your ass. Very few albums capture the level of intensity that Botch brought on this. The riffs are very intricate but still definitive, they're heavy as hell, and the instrumentation is tied so tightly together that even the most technically complex passages seem to flow smoothly, while still hitting hard. The performances here are clearly far from rehearsal. The band is fully equip to devastate, displaying some incredible musicianship and tightness within the group. This isn't all that shocking, considering this group of fantastic musicians all would go on to be a part of other incredible and well-known bands such as Minus The Bear, These Arms Are Snakes, and Russian Circles. The vocals bellow with ferocity churning out very interpretative lyrics that can be taken as either a personal catharsis or a social commentary. We Are The Romans is an absolute classic, and an essential listen within the realms of hardcore and metalcore.

Of course I can't let the remainder of their discography go unnoticed, since it's solid all around. There's a few things to note about the releases down below. The first is their debut LP, American Nervoso in 1998. The version below is a remastered version from 2007 that includes demos and such. The same goes for We Came The Romans, which was also remastered in 2007 and included a bonus disc of demos. The EP An Anthology Of Dead Ends was their final recorded material, released just after the band broke up in 2002. Unifying Themes Redux is a reissue of a compilation they put out in 1997, The Unifying Themes Of Sex, Death and Religion. The original featured all the songs on their two released EP's. The reissue features the same songs, plus all their material put out on splits, as well as some unreleased stuff. Finally, 061502 is a live album that was recorded at their last show (take a wild guess at the date). That's about it really, Botch are a phenomenal band, and one of aggressive music's best outputs. Enjoy.

Thursday, 25 August 2016

We Were Skeletons were a three-piece screamo/post-hardcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania that formed in 2007 and ended in 2013. They're equal parts aggressive and technical, and recall great bands like Hot Cross, Off Minor, and Fugazi. Their earliest works are quite chaotic and explosive, with frenzied guitars and vocals tearing over each other. By their final (and arguably definitive) LP Blame & Aging, We Were Skeletons had established themselves as one of the best screamo bands around. Their dark sound, angular chords and rhythms, blend of dissonance and melody, and tightness as a band had peaked, and the results are incredible. It's one of the decade's best output in terms of screamo, post-hardcore, whatever you want to call it. They were an amazing band, and thankfully put out a decent chunk of music to enjoy for years to come. Enjoy.

Sunday, 21 August 2016

There's a few things to mention before we get into this band: first off, this will be Sophie's 500th post. Holy shit, I did not expect it to have kept going for this long. As always, I hope you've all found something you've enjoyed in this increasingly expansive catalog of free shiz. Also, a long-time frequenter of this blog is celebrating their birthday today actually it was yesterday, I'm a little late getting this post up (Happy belated Birthday Anthony), and he requested this band. I can't say no to that, plus this band is perfectly fitting to celebrate numero 500. Enjoy.

Alexisonfire are a five-piece post-hardcore band from Saint Catherines, Ontario, that formed in 2001. They called it quits in 2011, when Dallas Green (vocalist/guitarist) left to focus on his solo project City and Colour, and Wade MacNeil (guitarist/vocalist) became the lead singer for Gallows. However. they reunited the following year to embark on a farewell world tour, and played their "final show" on December 30, 2012 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. The band announced their return in 2015, with a headlining set at Riot Fest. Though they're not as active as they once were, they will be doing a handful of shows in Australia in 2017, so in some capacity Alexisonfire are in fact, back again.

To contextualize Alexisonfire's influence, they emerged in the new millennia, following a decade long build-up of post-hardcore in the underground. A ton of bands were pushing the envelope on traditional punk and hardcore, including more dynamics, more melody, and sometimes even more aggression. They got experimental, incorporating off-kilter rhythms and chord structures, and essentially whatever the hell else they wanted. This culminated in Refused's The Shape Of Punk To Come, which title says it all. This evolving sound broke loose at the turn of the century, when a ton of new, up-and-coming bands rode this new wave of post-hardcore. The production was cleaner, the songs had more hooks, so much so that they actually made it into the semi-mainstream. Bands like Thursday, Thrice, Glassjaw, as well as Alexisonfire can all be credited for exposing an entire new generation of people to post-hardcore.

Up here in Kanada, Alexisonfire were incredibly popular, especially around Watch Out! and Crisis. A small personal anecdote here, but I first heard "Accidents" when I was 9. That was my first exposure to any form of "aggressive" or "extreme" music, and it's obviously come a long way since then. I suppose their popular appeal isn't much of a surprise. The blend of George's howls and Dallas' VERY catchy and melodic choruses are infectious. The band not only brought an uninhibited energy, but some legitimately good songwriting. They've got the best of both worlds, so to speak. In addition, they never put out a bad album. All four of their full-lengths are fantastic (my personal favourite is their debut), and are an absolute essential for post-hardcore fans. There are some things missing from this discography, most notably some live stuff. If anyone has that, or anything else I don't, please feel free to send it to me so I can add it. Otherwise, here's the majority of their discography. Enjoy.

Thursday, 18 August 2016

Cerce are a five-piece hardcore band from Boston, Massachusetts that formed in 2011 and broke up in 2013. They played a very raw and energetic form of punk, that was mixed in with a lot of noisy and chaotic elements. Each song is a loaded burst of aggression that takes off as quickly as it ends. The band knocks out a ton of heavy, feedback-fueled riffs topped by these screeching, charismatic female vocals. A notable comparison that tends to be drawn is to Punch, which definitely makes sense; however Cerce at their best are really in their own element. In my personal opinion they put out some of the best hardcore in the past few years, particularly their self-titled EP, which is particularly incredible. They unfortunately didn't last very long though. When they broke up, most of the members started another band called lovechild, while their vocalist went on to start Sisterwives. Enjoy.

Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Crossed Out were a four-piece powerviolence band from Encinitas, California that were around from 1990 to 1993. They put a few 7"'s and splits with some other incredible bands, including Dropdead and Man Is The Bastard. Crossed Out themselves are up there with them as well as a classic, essential powerviolence band. In 1999, their discography was released titled 1990-1993. like any good PV band should be, they're blisteringly fast, their vocals are shouted manically, and they push hardcore punk into a whole new territory. Their discography is an essential for the genre, and a gruellingly intense 45-minute listen. Enjoy.

Friday, 12 August 2016

La Quiete are a five-piece screamo band from Forli, Italy that formed in 2000 and are surprisingly still around now. though they haven't released anything since 2008. Their name should be already known to most, since they're one of the biggest screamo bands to emerge this century. They also share members with another very noteworthy Italian band, which is of course Raein. A few notes on their discography: they've only released one LP, which came out in 2004. It's a skramz essential, so don't pass that up. Between 2001 and 2005, they released a slew of splits and such, all of which are compiled on Tenpeun. Two self-titled 7"'s followed, both of which are included on 2006-2009. The splits with Louise Cyphre and Phoenix Bodies weren't included on any compilation, so I included the actual splits down below. La Quiete are a defining band for European screamo/hardcore, and simply one of the best bands in their genre, so enjoy.

A Stubborn Reminder...

Please remember, not everything on here is supposed to be free. Enjoy to your heart's content, but if you can, please try and support these bands by purchasing records, going to shows, buying merch, anything if at all possible. Most of them could really use (and deserve) it.